Evangelism must be redefined’ says Dr. Donghyun Jeong of Austin Seminary
Evangelism means sharing the good news in relationally flourishing ways,” said Dr. William P. Brown, Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia on Tuesday.
In the Scattered Church webinar sponsored by Theology, Formation and Evangelism ministry area of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, Brown admitted that he was challenged by the invitation to speak about evangelism within the Hebrew Bible, particularly the psalms. However, once he looked at the texts from this angle, he was inspired by the holistic way that “good news” is both given and received and tied to the concept of shalom. “Shalom is not just peace but also justice,” said Brown, who pointed to Isaiah 52:7-8, where God’s messenger brings the good news of shalom to the impoverished, the captives, the impaired and the oppressed. The good news is, “they shall be free.”
“The result of justice is praise,” Brown said as he cited Psalms 82, 98, 146, and 148 as evangelism-defining texts of the Hebrew Bible before crossing over to the New Testament to support this fuller picture of evangelism with Colossians 1:21-23. “Evangelism is for all of Creation,” said Brown, who did not bow to stereotypes of converting nonbelievers and saving souls but instead described how the sharing of good news is done “on behalf of Creation and for those who are hungry.”
Original source can be found here.
